Ebola outbreak ‘complicated’: WHO

FREETOWN: The UN Ebola Response Coordinator, who is leading a UN delegation to West Africa said Monday that the Ebola outbreak in the West African region is “complicated and is advancing fast”.

Dr. David Naborro who was addressing the media described the outbreak as “the largest and most complex”. He noted that to eradicate Ebola needs the response from all factors in the community. Dr. Naborro emphasized that the UN family together with civil society organizations including the international community must use exceptional measures to get the disease under control.

“All efforts must be made to fight the disease so as to bring the countries back to normal.” He frowned at airlines that have suspended their flights to the Ebola hit countries noting that it has made their job “lot harder”, especially in transporting goods and personnel.

He noted that he is in consultation with aviation authorities including IATA and the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) to see how best they could help in resuming flights with little risk.

The WHO Deputy Director General, who was also part of the UN team, Dr. Keiji Fukuda said the Ebola is challenging but not “mysterious”. He emphasized that Ebola is transmitted by people to people.

Dr. Fukuda described the fight against the virus as a “not a battle but a war”. “It is not just an issue for Sierra Leone but an issue for the world”, he said.

He emphasized the need for concerted effort to fight the disease hoping that it will be done in six months.

He explained that the mission had two main objectives, to assess the situation and the response mechanisms that have been adopted to address the situation. He promised immediate response by facilitating the despatch of personnel from Uganda and Congo to the three Ebola affected countries.

An epidemiologist attached to WHO working in the treatment center in eastern Kenema city has been confirmed positive with the virus and according to WHO sources plans are underway to fly him out. PNA